| Like many of the other arts of unarmed combat, the | | | | 4. Outside edge of foot |
| origin of Savate is lost in past ages. | | | | 5. Bottom of foot |
| In the beginning man fought without weapons, using | | | | 6. Toe |
| just his hands and feet as means of attacking and | | | | It is wise to know how to use all the foot parts as |
| defending. | | | | striking points. Then you can vary your type of |
| Although Savate is primarily the art of foot fighting, the | | | | defense and confuse the attacker. |
| hands do play a part in this technique. The use of the | | | | There are many different types of kicks in the art of |
| hands to fight as a sport can be traced back over five | | | | Savate. One of the most important kicks is called the |
| thousand years. During the Greek era, hand fighting, or | | | | vertical kick. For this kick, the leg is drawn back with |
| as we know it, boxing, flourished through the use of | | | | the knee in a high position and brought forward with |
| gloves with metal spikes. In the Roman age, | | | | tremendous force, hitting the antagonist in any one of |
| metal-spiked gloves were replaced by gloves of hard | | | | the target areas. |
| leather. | | | | The next kick to be studied is the horizontal kick. Here |
| The combination of boxing and foot fighting, or Savate, | | | | you pivot on the ball of the left foot and, leaning back |
| into a systemized art is recent, about 125 years old. | | | | and away from the attacker, draw your leg up and |
| During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, it was a | | | | point the toe at the attacker's target area. Then you |
| practice of street fighters in Marseille, France, to use | | | | swing the leg around in a horizontal movement, striking |
| their feet instead of their hands in combat. Through | | | | the target. |
| many years of experience, they had learned the | | | | One of the most important types of Savate defense |
| advantages of using the feet in defense of their lives. | | | | is called the high kick. Much practice is required before |
| Finally in the 1820's, the best of the foot fighting | | | | a high kick can be mastered. Although the effort is |
| techniques used by the street fighters were collected | | | | great, the high kick becomes a powerful defense once |
| and classified into a formal art called Savate. A school | | | | mastered. |
| was opened in Paris for teaching Savate, and many | | | | Bending your knees from a crouched position, |
| people, including noblemen, became experts in this art. | | | | straighten your legs and lift your body, leaving the |
| Because there was such a need for good defense by | | | | ground with your legs drawn under you. At the top of |
| those who had occasion to venture into a city streets | | | | your upward movement, direct both feet toward the |
| after dark in those days, the art of Savate flourished | | | | target area, striking it and then recovering into a good |
| until there were many schools teaching it. | | | | defensive stance. Remember, do not use this until you |
| Although Savate is relatively unknown in North | | | | can recover properly! |
| America, with only a handful of teachers in the United | | | | Another high kick is executed by rotating your body, |
| States and Canada, it is still in use in France today. | | | | bending slightly forward and pivoting on the balls of |
| The Savate Striking Points And Kicks | | | | both feet. Then, as you complete your turn away from |
| In Savate the foot is the major striking point. In | | | | your opponent, place both hands on the ground so that |
| considering the foot as the major striking point, we | | | | you are in a crouched position. At the moment your |
| must be more specific by breaking down the striking | | | | hands touch the ground, shift your weight to them, and |
| point into the parts of the foot used at the actual point | | | | kick back and upward toward the target area using |
| of contact. The following are the parts of the foot | | | | your feet as a striking points. After contacting your |
| used as striking points: | | | | adversary, recover to a defensive position by |
| 1. Heel | | | | reversing the procedure. |
| 2. Instep | | | | A little practice is all you will need to master these |
| 3. Inside edge of foot | | | | techniques. |